Track Lighting

In the early stages of its popularity, track lighting would most often be found in commercial settings for utilitarian purposes. But lighting designers have since transformed the medium. Sure, industrial track systems are still widely available, but now we have many innovative types of residential track lighting, as well. You can use it for accenting decorations with spot light track heads or illuminating kitchens with pendant fixtures. Below we’ll give you some track lighting ideas for commercial or residential settings. We'll explain the different types of track lighting fixtures and light sources, and it will become clear that track lighting is coming even more into style.

Track Lighting Ideas

Residential

More and more often, track lighting is part of the kitchen lighting conversation. One very popular use of track lighting in the kitchen is as kitchen island lighting. With the advent of modern track lighting designs, you can find pendant track heads and rails in an array of types.

DIY track lighting is also very popular in the home. You can do it yourself by using track lighting kits to accent artwork on walls in rooms or hallways. The availability of monorail track kits and traditional aluminum track lighting kits makes it easy to pull off a DIY track lighting project.

Commercial

If you've ever been to a museum, art gallery, or shopping mall, you have probably seen some impressive industrial track lighting systems. The heavy duty tracks are very popular for displaying works of art and merchandise.

Which types of track lighting could help you create a memorable experience for your customers or attendees? For example, should you choose black track lighting to create a more theatrical experience? Do you want hanging pendants with vintage bulbs? Will your displays be changing? Track lighting allows you to continually optimize the lighting in your commercial space.

Track Lighting Fixtures

Departing from the traditional utilitarian aluminum track, monorail track lighting delivers versatility and functionality with a more aesthetically pleasing look. Monorail systems are excellent for residential spaces. They look great with pendants hanging over kitchen islands or accenting the most important places in the heart of the home.

There are also fixtures that fall under the category of flexible track lighting. This is a great option for creating a unique monorail shape for your unique space. But remember, "flexible track lighting" is not always bendable by hand. Some require a special track bending device. If you are not interested in customizing a monorail yourself but are still interested in unique track lighting, you're in luck because many monorail track lighting fixtures come pre-formed into cool shapes.

Types of Track Lighting Sources

Many track heads can accept halogen, incandescent, compact fluorescent (CFL), or LED light bulbs. The kind of light source you choose should correlate to your purpose for installing track lighting. Are you spot lighting art work? If so, think halogen or LED more so than CFL.

We have lots of resources to help you choose light bulbs. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that not ALL track lighting heads are compatible with ALL LED light bulbs. Always confirm with the manufacturer that you are using light bulbs that work well with your track fixture.

If you do want to go LED, think about an integrated LED track system. It's true that integrated LED track heads have to be replaced when the LED dies. But LEDs generally last a long, long time. A typical user of integrated LED track lighting might not have to worry about replacing the head for twenty years! At that point, who knows what light bulbs will look like? The fact is that LEDs were not designed to emit light from the kind of light bulb that Edison invented so long ago. There are some great LED light bulbs out there, to be sure, but integrated heads better play to the strengths of LEDs.

Is Track Lighting Out of Style?

In the 1990s track lighting became very popular. Then, without many variations on the standard aluminum track, track lighting looked like it was losing some popularity to other kinds of fixtures, like recessed swivel lights. But with modern and contemporary track lighting, including bronze track lighting and flexible monorail tracks, it has become very popular once again. Is track lighting out of style? Heck no! Just search Google Images for "kitchen track lighting," and see what pleasant surprises you get!